Ongole: There is an unannounced delay in issuing card-based driving licences in the State. RTO officials are telling the candidates to wait until the government supplies the cards or accept the licences printed on paper. In the new computerised system, every RTO is issuing at an average of 60 permanent plastic card-based driving licences and about 100 learning licences every day. The LLRs are being issued on paper, after passing a computer test.

Though the LLR is valid for six months,  the candidate may apply for the permanent licence printed on the plastic card after one month. A senior official at the Ongole RTO said, “For quite some time, government hasn’t supplied plastic cards and ribbons. We exhausted our stocks but there is no sign of cards from the government.

Most of the candidates have one or two months’ validity for their learning licence. At present, we are asking people to wait until the fresh cards arrive or take licenses printed on paper,” M Purendra RTO of Vijayawada said.  Even offices from Srikakulam to Chittoor district are also facing shortage of plastic cards.

In some places, officials are asking candidates to come later or leave their phone number to receive an alert when the cards arrive. An officer in the RTO office said, “We have about 10 to 15 plastic cards now. We are issuing it to people who are going abroad or faraway places as they need the plastic cards as per rules in their regions,”